Founded in 1958 by professors from St. John's College, Key School engages children from 2.5 years of age through grade 12 in a progressive, coeducational, college-preparatory, day program on its picturesque 15-acre campus located 4 miles from downtown Annapolis.

Key's program is designed to develop independent thinkers, creative innovators, effective collaborators, tenacious problem-solvers, and articulate leaders while cultivating in its students a deep sense of purpose, accountability and intrinsic motivation.

Key School's program is strengthened by the support of current parents, faculty and staff, alumni, grandparents, parents of
alumni, and other friends of the School who make Key their philanthropic priority, each year.

Build It Lab

The First School’s “Build It Lab” engages children in hands-on, multidisciplinary challenges integrating principles ofscience, technology, engineering, and math. Children are presented with age appropriate, real-world “problems” and asked to visualize possible solutions in their minds before embarking on the work at hand.

Key’s Kindergarteners were recently challenged to help the Key-Wees’ study of the alphabet by creating letters for an ABC Book using their choice of materials. While provided many options as starting points (including items found in the Build It Lab, outside on the Nature Explore Playground or even the Drawing Pad iPad app), children were only limited by their imaginations. They then documented their letter creations using the iPad camera app. Kindergarteners presented their books to the entire First School, explaining how they were created. Their unique alphabet was also used by Key to create stationery for the First School.

A recent Pre-Kindergarten challenge, designed in conjunction with a book the class read, charged the students with building components of a castle including a tower (using only cubes), a Lego bridge to span a moat, castle walls based on a floor plan and, finally, the creation of their own castles using the iPad Drawing app.

In the Build It Lab, First School children are actively engaged solving problems with creativity and joy.